PAYE Manual

Employer returns: regulation 80 determinations: estimating unpaid tax by a best of judgement

In some cases there may be difficulties where you

Do not have all the names of the employees

Or

The payments made

Or

A number of employees have disputed that payments were made

Regulation 80(2) - Estimates

A higher officer or above may make a determination to the best of their judgement. This regulation permits you to estimate the payments and the PAYE tax due on them. You should make a note of how you calculated the estimate.

Estimated determinations are effective because the employer can use the appeal process to provide accurate figures if they dispute your estimate. Even if the company accounts are not finalised, the employer should have kept a record of payments made.

Regulation 80(4) - Classes of employees

A determination may cover tax due for a class or classes of employees specified. It is not necessary to name the individuals who received the payments. You can describe the class of employees, for example, as

‘Lorry drivers in respect of bonus payments’

You should then enter the estimated payments and the estimated tax due using the tax code that you think should have applied based on the employees circumstances.